Cody Rhodes Describes The Moment He Tore His Pec

The story of Cody Rhodes returning to win the 2023 men's Royal Rumble match almost feels like something out of a movie. Last June, in preparation for a Hell in a Cell match against Seth Rollins, Cody was exercising in the gym and tore his pectoral muscle completely off the bone. Despite the injury, "The American Nightmare" showed up and put on an unforgettable match with Seth Rollins that many deemed as the match of the year.

On the latest episode of the "ImPAULsive" podcast, Rhodes gave Logan Paul the play-by-play on how he tore his pec. Part of the reason appears to be carelessness on Rhodes' part, explaining how he had been wrestling for over a decade and never experienced any significant injuries.

"I felt bulletproof. Walked in the gym with flip-flops on. Flip-flops in the gym? Bad sign. Open cup of coffee. Little bit of this real old-timer warmup," Cody says while swinging his arms back and forth. "Got on the bench and put on 295, didn't even warm up. There's no reason for me to ever be doing it –- I was going for it."

Rhodes also revealed that he was pushing himself because he realized there was only one other man at the gym, prompting him to push his limits to compete with him.

"It's just me and him in there. I was like, 'I'm going to show you, dude.' I just unrack it and it went right away. Just went. Hadn't even gone down, it went like velcro. They were like, 'Did it pop?' It doesn't pop. It went and I felt it. Full tear. I didn't need to kick the weights off, they flew off." 

Funny enough, the person he was competing with came to his assistance as soon as the injury happened.